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The announcement of the winners
was made Saturday by CBS sportscaster Dick Enberg during the
network's telecast of the NCAA men's basketball championships in New
Orleans.
The Senior CLASS Award -- an
acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in
School -- was launched during the 2001-02 season in response to the
recent trend of college basketball players leaving college early to
turn professional. The inaugural recipients of this senior award
were Juan Dixon of Maryland and Sue Bird of Connecticut.
West and Thomas will be
presented with trophies at an awards dinner scheduled for Friday,
April 25, in Kansas City.
National balloting was
conducted during the month of March by three separate voting
entities -- a panel of national media covering college basketball,
Division I college basketball coaches and nationwide fan balloting.
The names of 10 finalists, selected from a list of 30 nominees by
the media committee, appeared on the ballot.
A points system combined the
votes from these groups and determined the national winner. In close
balloting, West edged Kansas Jayhawks senior Nick Collison for the
men's award. Those two are joined on the Senior CLASS All-America
First Team by Hollis Price of Oklahoma, Josh Howard of Wake Forest
and Collison's teammate at Kansas, Kirk Hinrich.
For the women's award, Thomas
easily outdistanced runners-up Chantelle Anderson of Vanderbilt and
Kara Lawson of Tennessee. The Senior CLASS All-America First Team
for women also includes Jocelyn Penn of South Carolina and Ashley
McElhiney of Vanderbilt.
West returned to Xavier for his
senior season and finished a fabulous career by becoming the first
player in Atlantic 10 history to be named player of the year three
times. He averaged 20.4 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per
game as a senior in leading Xavier to the regular-season conference
championship. He was voted the Oscar Robertson Player of the Year in
national voting by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. West,
who earned his college degree in December, became the only player in
Atlantic 10 history to record 2,000 career points and 1,000 career
rebounds.
Thomas concluded a remarkable
four-year career at Mississippi State by being named the
Southeastern Conference Player of the Year. She led the SEC in
scoring for the fourth straight year with a 25.6 points-per-game
average, which ranked third nationally. She eclipsed the all-time
career scoring mark at MSU with 2,930 points and incredibly scored
in double figures in every game of her career. She also climbed to
the top of the school's charts in rebounds, blocks, field goals made
and attempted, free throws made and attempted, and games played.
"The Senior CLASS Award is
rapidly becoming one of the outstanding components of college
basketball," said Miles Schnaer, chairman of the Senior CLASS Award
organizing committee. "We congratulate the men's and women's winner,
both of whom had outstanding senior seasons to cap a marvelous
college career. We look forward to hosting them in Kansas City for
the awards presentations and paying tribute to what the word
‘senior' means to college basketball."
The general concept of an award
to honor college seniors was instigated by Enberg during the CBS
telecast of the NCAA men's basketball championship game in 2001, the
year Shane Battier led Duke to the national title. The idea was
brought to fruition by the Kansas City Club, a downtown athletic and
business club, and Premier Sports Management, a sports marketing and
management company. Enberg serves as honorary chairman.
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"It's amazing how far this
award has come in just two years," said Gary Heise, president and
CEO of Premier Sports. "We've appreciated the support from Dick
Enberg, CBS Sports and the college athletic departments in
establishing the award nationally. Fan response has also been
enthusiastic, as nearly 100,000 votes were cast during the March
balloting process."
The second annual Senior CLASS
Award will culminate with a first-class, multimedia awards
presentation in Kansas City that will feature an entire evening of
tributes to college basketball. In addition to the awards to West
and Thomas, the event will include a special salute to the NCAA
national championship teams for men and women. The gala will be at
the Overland Park Convention Center. Ticket information is available
by calling (913) 681-6990.
Senior CLASS
all-America teams
(As selected by cumulative results of balloting by NCAA Division I
coaches, national media committee and fans)
(Name, Pos., Ht., Wt., School, Pts., Reb., Ast.)
Men
First team
David West, F, 6'9, 240,
Xavier, 20.4, 11.8, 3.2
Nick Collison, F, 6'9, 255,
Kansas, 18.6, 9.6, 2.1
Hollis Price, G, 6'1, 170,
Oklahoma, 18.1, 2.7, 2.8,
Josh Howard, F, 6'6, 203, Wake
Forest, 19.5, 8.3, 1.9
Kirk Hinrich, G, 6'3, 190,
Kansas, 17.3, 3.9, 3.5
Second team
Brian Cook, F, 6'10, 240,
Illinois, 20.1, 7.6, 2.0
Kyle Korver, F, 6'7, 210,
Creighton, 17.8, 6.4, 3.1
Matt Carroll, G, 6'6, 212,
Notre Dame, 19.5, 5.0, 1.6
Jason Gardner, G, 5'10, 191,
Arizona, 14.8, 4.0, 4.9
Reece Gaines, G, 6'6, 205,
Louisville, 17.9, 2.9, 5.0
Women
First team
LaToya Thomas, F, 6'2,
Mississippi State, 25.6, 9.1, 1.6
Chantelle Anderson, C, 6'6,
Vanderbilt, 18.2, 5.2, 1.8
Kara Lawson, G, 5'8, Tennessee,
14.5, 4.6, 3.9
Jocelyn Penn, F, 6'0, South
Carolina, 23.9, 8.1, 1.9
Ashley McElhiney, G, 5'6,
Vanderbilt, 9.7, 2.6, 7.3
Second team
Cheryl Ford, C, 6'3, Louisiana
Tech, 15.7, 12.9, .88
Plenette Pierson, F-C, 6'2,
Texas Tech, 17.8, 8.1, 1.5
Courtney Coleman, F, 6'1, Ohio
State, 14.1, 6.7, 1.5
Coretta Brown, G, 5'9, North
Carolina, 14.5, 3.6, 4.3
Gwen Jackson, F, 6'2,
Tennessee, 15.8, 5.8, .85
[News release
from Premier Sports Management] |
